Roy Cooper on Homeland Security

Pause Syrians for most effective screening process possible

Cooper is facing a barrage of criticism on social media for saying he wants to "pause" Syrian refugees coming to North Carolina. Cooper, a Democrat who's running against Gov. Pat McCrory, is largely backing the governor's stance on the issue. McCrory
has repeatedly called on Pres. Obama this week to stop sending Syrians to North Carolina in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks. "I support asking the federal government to pause refugee entries to make sure we have the most effective screening
process possible so our humanitarian efforts are not hijacked," said Cooper.

Obama has said the US will continue to take in Syrian refugees, but his position saw very little support from North Carolina leaders in his own party. A legislative commission
voted unanimously Wednesday to side with McCrory. On Twitter, some Democrats said they can no longer support Cooper and might consider his primary opponent, Ken Spaulding. Spaulding said he disagrees with both McCrory and Cooper on the refugee issue: